The Insular lodges soon turned into political
organizations, and thus incurred the extra antagonism
of the priests. The majority of those executed, and
those exiled, on account of the Cavite insurrection
were members of the Masonic body. Out of the
Freemasons grew a number of independent societies, each
more radical than its predecessors, culminating in the
Katipunan. The members of this order were Tagals,
mostly in the ranks of the working people;
determined, desperate men, who had nothing but their lives
to lose. Their purpose was "to redeem the Philippines
from its tyrants, the friars, and to found a
communistic republic." In 1896 the Katipunan
probably numbered abont fifty thousand members. It was
the inciting factor in the Tagal Rebellion and the
backbone of the movement.

In 1895 and 1896 the authorities adopted the most
severe measures to suppress the Katipunan, with
precisely the reverse effect to that intended. The friars,
who often acted in the capacity of detectives for the
civil power, caused the deportation of great numbers
of suspects.

Without entertaining the sentiment of patriotism
in the broader sense, the Tagal has always evinced
strong attachment to the soil and no penalty, short of
death, could be more severe than exile from his
native village.

Sawyer* says: "The greatest and the best-founded
complaint of the natives against the priests was that
whoever displeased them, either in personal or money
matters, was liable to he denounced to the anthorities
as a filibuster, and to be torn from home and family
and deported to some distant and probably unhealthy
spot, there to resize at his own cost for an indefinite
time by arbitrary authority, without process of law.
Such a punishment, euphoniously termed ,'forced
residence,' sometimes involved the death of the exile and
always caused heavy expense, as a pardon could not be
obtained without bribing some one."